Over the Hedge: Part 2- The Finale (Lucky in Love) Read online

  Stacy cocked her head back and smirked in my direction. “Look at you with the good relationship advice.”

  I placed the carton of milk on the counter and leaned my back against the fridge.

  “I love me some Sean, but he can be a hard-headed little something when his mood strikes. I’ve learned a thing of two about getting him to see things my way. And, if honesty and communication doesn’t work, then I just use my feminine wiles to get what I want.”

  I winked at them before walking to the pantry to get a large mixing bowl for the biscuits.

  “Oh snap! No, you don’t be manipulating that man with the goodies,” Stacy scolded good-heartedly.

  The coffee pot sounded, and I pulled out two cups. “It’s not manipulation—it’s more like suggestive encouragement.”

  Crystal looked at Stacy and rolled her eyes. “Whatever. You be bribing that man with the good-good to get him to do what you want.”

  I brought them their coffee and placed it in front of them, leaning in close and lowered my voice to a whisper. “But, don’t be mistaken. When his dick is deep inside of me, pounding away at my pussy or that magnificent tongue is sucking my clit, he knows he could get me to do just about anything he asked.”

  Crystal and Stacy gasped loudly at my bold admission. They both let out a string of obscene, boisterous laughter, slapping hands with me in the process. I usually wasn’t one to speak like that about sex or relationships. But, I had very little reservations when it came to admit Sean turned me into a sex kitten.

  We spent the next hour catching up and fixing breakfast. There was more gossiping than cooking, which didn’t bother anyone in the least. We talked all the time, but there was nothing like having all three of us in the same room.

  I gave them a quick tour of the house, while I waited for the batter to settle. I was proud of my first home purchase. There was a little garden outback that Sean and I wanted to use for growing our own vegetables. Crystal helped me pick out some of the decor in the living area. The gray, yellow, green color scheme was unique but fit my personal taste perfectly. When I was in my old place, I didn’t spend much time focused on decorating. But this time was different. I was decorating to stay.

  As we went back to the kitchen to finish up breakfast, there was a muffled sound coming from the second floor.

  “What’s that noise?” Crystal asked.

  “Shhh…listen,” Stacy said.

  “Brown skin. You know I love your brown skin…”

  “Oh no…” I groaned, covering my face with the oven mitt I was holding.

  “Is that…is that Sean singing?” Crystal asked.

  “Brown skin…up against my white skin. Need some every now and then…yeah, yeah, yeah…yeah.”

  I felt my cheeks heat with embarrassment. Not only did the girls get a free viewing of my man’s most intimate parts, but now they got to hear Sean singing in the shower.

  We had taken turns playing some of our favorite songs last night while we cleaned up. I loved India Arie. Sean had never heard of her before. We played her single Brown Skin at least a dozen times because he loved the lyrics and the guitar strumming in the background. If he knew Stacy and Crystal were getting an earful of his singing, he would be mortified.

  “Where are your people from? mmmm-hmmm-mmmm…your skin has been kissed by the sun…you make me want a Hershey kiss…every time I see your lips it makes me think of honey-coated chocolate…”

  “I don’t think he knew the words to that second part,” Stacy said rocking side to side, snapping her fingers in time with Sean’s melody.

  “Brown skin…you know I love your brown skin…. brown skin…up against my white skin...Skin so brown lips so round baby how can I go down…beautiful mahogany you make me feel like a king…. brown skin, you know I love your brown skin.”

  The song ended with some not so nice rifts on what I assumed to be Sean’s air guitar. I almost spit out my tea as the picture of him dancing around naked in our walk-in shower came to mind. My baby could dance like nobody’s business, but that was something not a lot of people knew. The song ended and then a few minutes later the shower turned off.

  We went back to eating and catching up until we heard heavy footsteps lumbering down the stairs. Sean came down dressed in a sleeveless white shirt and loose fitting sweat pants. His hair was still slightly damp from his shower and he had yet to shave his morning stubble. He was the sexiest man I had ever laid my eyes on.

  And, he’s all mine, I thought devilishly.

  “Really, Sean?” Stacy asked when he stepped into the kitchen.

  Sean’s green eyes lit up at the hearty breakfast spread. He stopped with his hand on a biscuit sitting on the table. “What? I said sorry for giving you a peepshow this morning.”

  “I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about your little one-man show in the shower.” She retorted.

  “What?” Sean asked, looking around the room with confusion. He settled his gaze on me, his face hopeful I would enlighten him as to what Stacy was talking about.

  “Yeah, Green Giant. How does it go?” Crystal asked.

  She walked next to Stacy, and they both deepened their voice attempting to mimic Sean’s baritone and sang.

  “Brown skin…you know I love your brown skin,” They sang in unison.

  The smile on Sean’s lips disappeared into a straight line. His face heated with humiliation. The girls kept singing and laughing; even I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “So, it’s pick on Sean day, and I haven’t been notified? At this point I don’t even care. I think both of y’all are jealous of my musicality.” Sean pulled out a chair at the island in the kitchen and took a healthy bite of the warm biscuits he was holding.

  “You didn’t even know all the words,” Crystal yelled.

  I brought Sean his breakfast and a cup of coffee. As I placed his food in front of him, he pulled me in between his legs.

  “You like my singing, don’t you, little lady?” His deep voice had that erotic timber that always turned me into a puddle.

  “I love everything about you.” I leaned into his hard frame.

  He cupped the side of my face. The pad of his thumb slowly caressed my full bottom lip.

  “I love your brown skin, every inch of it. I love watching us while we’re connected. I love how our bodies make a beautiful mosaic of colors when we’re naked in the bathtub. Most of all, I love every inch of this brown skin that is all mine.” Sean’s timber sent zings of pleasure coursing through my body with each spoken word. I was so entranced by his expression of love, I completely forgot that my girls were in the room.

  He gently kissed my lips, first the top and then the bottom. His free hand reached around and grabbed a hearty dose of my booty, kneading the pliant flesh, and pressing me into him. The slight tease of honey and mint lingered on the inside of my bottom lip. The feeling of him gently sucking at them caused a moan to escape my throat. No matter how excited I was to have the girls here visiting, I wished they could disappear, so Sean could spread me out on the island and enjoy every inch of what belonged to him.

  “You taste so good.” Sean kissed me once more and patted my booty when I turned to the stove. He tucked into the food, too busy devouring his eggs to notice Stacy and Crystal were staring at him with their mouths agape. At my slight chuckle, he looked up.

  “What now?” he asked with his fork out.

  Stacy brought her coffee to her lips, smirking over the top of the mug. “Nothing. I was wondering if I was going to get half-nakedness, singing, and live porn all in one day.”

  Sean’s deep, rumbling laughter filled the open kitchen space. “Nope, we save the full nudity for nighttime hours in this house.”

  I brought him over a bowl of fruit, setting it down next to his plate. He almost choked on his eggs when I whispered in his ear.

  “Not always.”

  Sean left after breakfast to pick up my dad, Ian, and Brent. They were all heading out to buy a new gr
ill. Not sure why all of them needed to go, but it was cute. Momma called me the night before and told me in confidence how happy Daddy was that Sean asked him to come along. He was finally getting a chance at having a son. Sean and his friends had given him three sons.

  Now, it was late afternoon, and I was getting ready to either shut down or pull my hair out. Honestly, Sean was getting on my nerves. My big know-it-all boyfriend was mimicking things my dad did. I’ve heard the old wives’ tale about girls marrying their fathers, and I was starting to think it was true. I wondered if Sean even knew what he was doing?

  The way he fussed about getting everything he needed for the grill, was reminiscent of my dad and showed how much time they were spending together. Him repeatedly asking me if we had enough food. Him wearing that silly apron that said, ‘Chef you look good won’t ya back that thang up’. The chicken twerking made it even more ridiculous.

  I should never have let them go shopping together. I felt like I was living with a Caucasian Phil Price.

  “Lashawnda’s gotta go pick up a few more packs of hot dogs,” I heard Sean say as I walked into the kitchen, arms already full of grocery bags.

  Brent was the first to see me. He came jogging over and took the three bags out of my hand.

  “Are there any more?” he asked while plopping a kiss on my cheek.

  “Yeah.” I nodded. “Crystal and Stacy should be coming in with more.”

  “Cool.” He placed the bags on the counter and walked out with Ian following him.

  “Are you guys eating already?” I asked eyeing the stack of dishes in the sink.

  Sean had the decency to look abashed. I don’t even know why I asked. If there was food in the house and a grill outside, then he was not about to sit around and wait on anyone to start cooking.

  “Had a few burgers,” he replied with a nonchalant shrug.

  “A few…” I walked up to him, pressing my frame against his and looking up at his face.

  “What, little lady?” Sean settled his hand against my waist. He smelled like charcoal, seasoning, and the sun.

  “A few burgers,” I repeated.

  “Enough to hold me over until I get ready to eat.” He winked at me. It took me a few seconds, but it finally dawned on me he wasn’t talking about eating food.

  “Y’all at it again?” Crystal asked, walking in with Brent, Ian, and Stacy bringing up the rear. The guys were laden with bags from our shopping trip.

  “Where’s Will?” Stacy placed her purse on the table and started unpacking the bags.

  Ian dropped his load on the table and headed back outside for the rest. “He’s upstairs. The guy could hardly keep his eyes open.”

  “Hmm…okay,” Stacy said giving me a knowing glare.

  I understood how frustrating it must be whenever he wasn’t working, he only had enough energy to sleep. If that was Sean, I’d be upset too. Part of the joy of being with someone is spending time with your partner.

  Sean tapped me on my ass and pointed at Crystal and Brent. They were standing in the doorway talking quietly. Since the night of our first family dinner, I got the feeling something was up with them. Crystal was adamant about not even thinking about no man since she was going through the divorce. Sean told me Brent was the last person on earth that would ever seek a relationship. He was all about, ‘baggin’ em and taggin’ em’.

  Didn’t mean he wasn’t trying to bag and tag my sister, I thought.

  Brent was hot. As simple as that. He had that classic all-American boy next door look with a bad boy demeanor. I made a mental note to ask Crystal about them.

  “Lucky!” Daddy hollered, sticking his head through the open back patio door.

  “Hey, Daddy.” I pulled from Sean’s embrace and went to hug my dad, smelling the same scent of seasoning, charcoal, and sun on his dark skin.

  “Where’s your momma?”

  “She’s at the bakery with Mrs. Colcord. She wanted to get some dessert from McNeal’s.”

  “McNeal’s?” Daddy scoffed. “Why she drive all the way across town to pay five times as much for the same pies she can get from the grocery store down the street?”

  I didn’t bother to answer. It was clearly a rhetorical question.

  “Daddy you know McNeal’s is a gourmet bakery. You’re not paying for grocery store desserts made in a factory,” Crystal said coming to Momma’s defense.

  “Ain’t shit gourmet about Donovan McNeal’s desserts,” Daddy grumbled. “Old country bumpkin slapped some fancy name on a run-down building and brainwashed y’all into thinking high price means high quality.”

  For years it’s been the same argument. I asked Momma about it, and she said Mr. McNeal was an old college classmate of hers. Daddy didn’t like him because they used to study together. After our conversation about Daddy almost losing Momma to another man, I finally put two and two together. Mr. McNeal was the man that was trying to poach my mother. Thank God Daddy got his self together, or else Crystal and I wouldn’t be here today.

  “Well, that just means more for us, since you don’t plan on eating none.” Crystal smiled up at Daddy. In a flash, he flicked the towel from over his shoulder and popped her on the leg.

  “Daddy!” she hollered, bending down to rub the sore spot.

  “Go grab me a beer before ya momma gets here.” He smiled before heading back outside, all the while grumbling. “Damn sure plan on eating some if I’m paying for it.”

  The cookout turned out to be a blast. Daddy taught Sean a few things about grilling. Mrs. Colcord made fried okra that everyone devoured. There was so much food left over that everyone would have leftovers to take home for days. Not only was the food good but so was the company. There were laughs and jokes all around. Stacy wasted no time retelling the events from that morning and had everyone in stitches as she and Crystal serenaded us with Sean’s song. They even made it a point to put it on the stereo, so he could hear all the words.

  Will fit right in with the guys. He was a welcomed new addition to the trio of Brent, Ian, and Sean. One would have thought they all grew up together the way they were acting. Because of the distance, and his job, we only had a few occasions in which we could spend time with him. But he was a great guy and perfect for Stacy. As much of a big mouth that she had, everyone agreed she needed someone to argue with. Will was perfect for the job.

  “Lashawnda, have you gotten the final pieces put together for the event?” Momma asked conspicuously. Daddy was outside with the other men.

  “Yes.” I hopped down from the bar stool. “Let me grab my notebook out of the car really quick. I want to get your final decision on a few things.”

  “We’re supposed to be enjoying the weekend, not working,” Momma admonished.

  “It’s not going to take that long,” I replied over my shoulder as I grabbed my car keys from the sidebar.

  Usually, Sean takes everything out of the car when we get home on Friday nights, because nine times out of ten I’ve accumulated a stack of papers and files during the week. He was constantly warning me not to leave work-related materials in the car, just in case of burglary. None of the information was sensitive, but it would be a hassle losing my project notes.

  I stepped from the front door, keys in my hand, and my cell phone in the other. A sudden chill ran through my body. It was a humid evening. The Florida sun was setting but left behind its heat. I looked around, not noticing anything out of the ordinary, yet still feeling odd.

  I popped the door open and went to grab my hobo bag. A text came in from Tracy, and I sat in the back to read it. She was asking for help with putting together a party for the staff to celebrate the company recently receiving another multi-million-dollar grant. I settled in, texting back and forth, until I heard a dog barking.

  “Get away from that car Stitch.” The sound of a man’s voice passing made me turn around.

  Grabbing my bag, I locked the car door and waved to my neighbor a few houses down. “Good evening, Mr. Rowe.”
r />   “Good evening, young lady,” he answered. From the look on his face, I could tell he didn’t remember my name. At his age, I wasn’t surprised. “You guys have the whole neighborhood smelling good.”

  “Would you like to come in for a bite to eat?” I asked.

  “No, dear; I’m good.” He waved me off. “My daughter and her family are visiting. Just getting out of the house for a bit to stretch my legs and give old Stitch here a walk.”

  “Okay well, you all are welcomed to come by.”

  “Maybe next time.” He started to walk away, before turning back. “Do you know that car sitting at the end of the block?”

  I followed his gaze to a late model luxury car parked at the far end of our street. My eyes narrowed in confusion. I knew the car, at least I thought I did. From the distance I couldn’t tell for sure, but it looked like Jenny’s car. I stepped out from the front yard onto the sidewalk next to Mr. Rowe. Just as quickly the car started backing up and then pulled off around the corner.

  “Hmm,” Mr. Rowe mumbled. “I just assumed it was one of your friends that got lost. You all are the only young couple in the neighborhood. I stopped to offer directions, but the young woman wouldn’t roll her window down or acknowledge me.”

  “What did she look like?”

  “Blonde hair, maybe brown, couldn’t really tell much about her appearance because she had a hood pulled down around her face,” he answered.

  “Well, maybe she pulled over to use her phone,” I offered.

  “Let’s hope so.” Mr. Rowe waved goodbye and headed back to his yard with Stitch pulling on his leash.

  I made my way back inside, thoughts of this mysterious driver on my mind. The moment I closed the door behind me, I turned around and collided with a firm chest.

  “What?” Sean asked, hand instinctively coming to my back to steady me.

  “I just…” I shook my head. “I just thought I saw Jenny’s car in the neighborhood.”

  “Jenny? That girl from work?”